Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia refers to an area in the middle east that was inhabited by the Sumerians approximately 7,000 years ago. The Sumerians built beautiful cities that had palaces and temples. They built huge walls around their cities for protection and were masterful craftsmen that created goods that were sold to neighboring lands. Mesopotamia was one of the first civilizations and unlike civilizations to come later, there was no one before them to learn from, so they figured many things out for themselves.

Geography

1. No country called Mesopotamia in modern time
2. Mesopotamia covered what is modern day southeastern Turkey, eastern Syria, and most of Iraq
3. Mesopotamia means "land between two rivers" and the two rivers are the Tigris and Euphrates.
4. The "Fertile Crescent" is the area of land made fertile by irrigation from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, allowing farmers to grow crops.
5. Alluvial plains between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers would flood each year, re-fertilizing and creating rich, and very valuable, silt.
   
   

Climate

1. Varied across the region
2. Northern Mesopotamia was a plateau with mild climates (southern Turkey)
3. Southern Mesopotamia had long and hot summers (southern Iraq)

City-States

1. Ur
   1. City-state and trade center on the Euphrates River near the Persian Gulf
   2. Major center of commerce and trade from 3500 to 1850 BC
   3. Majority of the people who lived in Ur were working class who either worked in trade or labored on farms
   4. Other people worked in the service of the king
   5. The largest structure in the city was the ziggurat, or temple to the gods.
   6. City declined over time as the course of the Euphrates River shifted, isolating Ur from river traffic and trade
   7. Also, invaders called "Elamites" came from the southeast and conquered Ur in 2000 BC
2. Babylon
   1. Located in northwest of Ur on the Euphrates River
   2. One of the greatest rulers was Hammurabi, who took control in 1792 BC
   3. Conquered all of warring city-states and united Mesopotamia by 1756 BC
   4. Known as a warrior and strong king who ruled with fairness
   5. Died in 1708 BC

Daily Life

Clothing

1. Men of middle and upper classes shaved their heads and wore kilts
2. Women braided their hair and wore loose-fitting clothing fastened at the shoulders

Shelter

1. The aristocracy enjoyed two-story brick homes made up of many rooms around a courtyard.
2. The working class had modest single-story homes of mud and brick, depending upon their wealth

Arts and Entertainment

1. Aristocracy enjoyed being entertained by singers, musicians and games, like checkers
2. In early days, statues and murals were used only in temples to please gods, but as trade grew, there was demand for works of art and craftsmen formed guilds to regulate and protect their crafts
3. Sumerian art had distinctive style
   1. Men were pictured as bald-headed and broad-shouldered, wearing kilts.
   2. Women wore ankle-length straight gowns and headdresses
   3. Figures were seen in profile
   4. Eyes were open very wide and staring straight ahead.
4. Famous for wool cloth woven on looms using wool from sheep
5. Also famous for carved stone cylinder seals
   1. Seals were carved with owner's signature or symbol
   2. Rolled in ink and pressed on documents as an official seal or trademark

Education

1. Only boys of the aristocracy went to school
2. Boys memorized cuneiform characters that had 500 possible combinations to stand for words, phrases or sentences
3. Not everyone to knew how to read and write
4. If you understood cuneiform, you were guaranteed a good job in government , law, trade, or in a ziggurat

Family

Three societal classes:

1. Aristocracy
   1. Rich and powerful families
   2. Owned much land
   3. King appointed members to be high priests, counselors, and generals
   4. Women ran households and girls learned from their mothers
2. Working class
   1. Largest group of people in Sumeria
   2. Jobs for the working class were architects, scribes, merchants, farmers, cattlemen, and fishermen.
   3. They were paid in goods and food, not money.
   4. Women helped their husbands and trained their daughters to run the household
3. Slaves
   1. Prisoners of war
   2. Families sold into slavery to pay off debts

Language

1. The Sumerians developed the first written language called "cuneiform"
2. Cuneiform developed to keep track of business records and accounts
3. Hundreds of thousands of clay tablets were discovered in Iraq that tell about Sumerian politics, literature, economy, law, and religion

Social Customs

1. Fathers arranged all marriages of all classes

Structures of Government

1. Sumeria was ruled by a king whose most important duty was to win wars
2. Wealthy aristocrats
3. Most people worked for the king in temples, the army, or trade
4. Hammurabi, a king of Babylon, wrote laws stating rights of individuals known as the "Code of Hammurabi"
5. In the early days, village citizens were free to meet and make decisions in democratic assembly
   1. As villages became cities, citizens elected one person to lead in times of need
   2. Eventually, the "lugal" made himself permanent ruler, or king.
6. King built temples, settled disputes, maintained irrigation canals, managed military, and was the head priest
7. Bureaucrats were appointed by the king

Economics

1. Craftsmen (working class) sold goods to neighboring lands
2. Ur was a trade center on the Euphrates River and Persian Gulf
3. Kept cuneiform accounts of business dealings dating to 3200 BC
4. Working class was paid in goods and food, not money
5. Ur's major crops included wheat, barley, dates and vegetables
6. Major export from Ur was wool cloth made from wool from sheep

Religion

1. Priests were highly respected in Sumeria
2. Priests were servants of the gods and advised the king
3. The king was considered the head priest
4. Each city had a patron god or goddess
5. Priests and priestesses told people what the gods said and were very powerful
6. Gods called "dingir" looked and acted like humans and controlled the four realms of the universe
   1. An - heaven
   2. Enlil - air god and was also called "father of the gods"; he set up the "me", or laws of the universe, but he broke the laws and was banished to the underworld
   3. Enki - water god; was put in charge of the "me" and organized the universe
   4. Ninhursag - mother earth goddess
   5. Utu - sun god who lit the world with rays shooting from his shoulders and moved across the sky in his chariot
   6. Nanna - Ur's patron god was the moon god who used a boat to travel by night
7. People worshipped in a temple called a "ziggurat", a 3-tiered pyramid structure

Enduring Contributions/Technology

1. Cuneiform was the first written language
   1. The word cuneiform means "wedge shaped"
   2. The characters were written on clay tablets
   3. Symbols told about daily life
2. Sumerians studied astronomy and mathematics
3. Developed the decimal system
4. Designed the first calendar that divided years into weeks and days into hours, minutes and seconds
5. Discovered the wheel, arch, chisel, saw, lever and pulley
6. Created the first sundial (first clock)
7. First system of government to run a city
8. Hanging Gardens of Babylon
9. "Code of Hammurabi" written in 1750 BC included 300 laws with the message "strong should not hurt the weak"
   1. Served as a model for later law systems

Why did this civilization become dominant?

1. Mesopotamia's two rivers provided much wealth for the area
2. Irrigation controlled by a network of canals provided rich farmland
3. Rivers were plentiful with fish

Why did this civilization decline?

1. Salinity of the soil from repeated irrigation depleted the richness of the soil and made it so that crops did not grow as well
2. Richness of Mesopotamia made it attractive for conquering and having few mountains, it made it easy to attack
3. Sumerians were conquered in 2800 BC by the Akkadians
4. In 539 BC, Mesopotamia was conquered by Alexander the Great